Why Arsenal have signed Eze and what he'll add to the attack

Football writer Alex Keble looks at what Eberechi Eze will add to Arsenal’s attack and how he could elevate Mikel Arteta’s side.

Arsenal supporters are ecstatic to have gazumped their rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the reported £67.5million capture of Eberechi Eze.

The move - evoking memories of Sol Campbell’s shock free transfer from Spurs to the Gunners back in 2001 - signals what they see as their superiority in north London.

But that is not why Mikel Arteta has brought in Eze. The Arsenal manager is not interested in one-upmanship, only in going one better in the Premier League.

Arteta might even see Eze as the final piece of the jigsaw to deliver Arsenal their first league title in 22 years.

That being said, the reasons why Arsenal have signed yet another attacker might not be immediately obvious.

They already have a wealth of creative options, having added Noni Madueke to a roster of Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri, and that’s before considering that 15-year-old Max Dowman has joined the senior squad this summer and Gabriel Jesus will soon recover from injury.

So why have Arsenal invested so heavily in the final third?

Why have Arsenal signed him?

The shortest and simplest answer to this question may be Kai Havertz’s knee injury, which could leave the German on the sidelines for a while.

In years gone by, Arteta has tried to artfully adapt to injuries, but the injury crisis of 2024/25, when Arsenal lost Jesus, Saka, Martinelli and epitomised by midfielder Mikel Merino playing up front in spring, seems to have forced Arsenal into getting serious about squad depth.

Eze could play as a "false nine" as Havertz has done, on the left wing, or – more likely - as the left-sided No 8, a role Havertz was originally signed to play and a position he looked set to be moved into this season.

Arteta hinted as much after Arsenal’s 3-0 victory in a friendly against Athletic Bilbao earlier this month, in which new striker Viktor Gyokeres and Havertz both scored.

“They can play together or Kai can play in different positions,” he said after the game.

Eze tended to play as the left-sided attacker in Oliver Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 at Palace, which essentially means playing as a left-leaning No 10.

This is surprisingly similar to where the left-sided No 8 plays in Arteta’s 4-3-3. Note the similarities between the 2024/25 heat maps of Eze and Declan Rice, Arsenal’s usual left-sided No 8.

That’s probably the main reason Eze has been signed. But as well as his versatility, Eze also offers Arsenal qualities nobody else in the squad currently has.

What does he bring that’s new to the squad?

We all know that what Arsenal lacked last season was goals. This wasn’t just a case of needing a No 9. Arsenal lacked open-play creativity as the squad became overreliant on Saka and Martin Odegaard.

Eze, quite simply, adds oomph.

Like Madueke and Gyokeres, he takes shots at a rate higher than any Arsenal player did last season. Eze is more creative than most Arsenal players, too, and importantly is someone who does not dally. He tries the riskier pass. He takes the shot.

Comparing his Premier League numbers at Crystal Palace in 2024/25 to Arsenal players in the same season is revealing.

Eze's attacking stats compared to Arsenal players, PL 24/25

That’s a serious upgrade on output, which is just what’s needed for an Arsenal team who so often seemed to get stuck when facing a low block, hence only 69 goals last season, 17 fewer than champions Liverpool.

Stylistically, what Eze brings is a weaving, ball-carrying creativity. He is an elastic player, at his best ducking and diving through the lines, working in tight spaces by dribbling, not by passing, as we see from the fact he attempted 27 per cent more dribbles than Arsenal’s best performer last season.

He also created 40 chances after carrying the ball five metres or further (25 shooting himself, 15 assisting a team-mate), again, a number no Arsenal player bettered.

Again, this could be invaluable when Arsenal are struggling against a team who invite them to hog possession.

Take the 0-0 draw at home to Everton last December, for example, a game in which Arsenal held 77 per cent of the ball but produced just two shots above a value of 0.1 Expected Goals (0.3xG and 0.4xG). At the time, a lot of the talk was about Havertz playing up front and Arsenal’s need for a striker.

But the issue was deeper. Merino, the left-sided No 8, had fewer touches (44) and made fewer passes (20) than any other outfield Arsenal player. Rarely were these forward, and the only chance he created (yellow arrow) was worth 0.1xG.

Key: Green - successful pass, yellow - chance created, red - failed pass

Eze would surely have a much bigger impact in games like this. He would certainly be more daring in possession, looking to draw Everton players towards him in the dribble (creating space for team-mates) and attempting shots on goal.

How will he change Arsenal's style of play?

As the Premier League seems to be moving towards more direct, transition-focused football (more and more goals are scored in quick attacks just after the ball turns over), Arsenal could do with more creativity in these moments.

Eze is superb at precisely that. Few players in the league are better at seizing the initiative in the transition, weaving through the thirds at high speed.

In fact, rather than seeing Eze’s shooting output as a way to break through a deep block, we should see Eze’s arrival as helping Arsenal avoid facing a well-set deep block in the first place.

With his help centrally, deployed in place of the less mobile Rice, Arsenal can catch teams with direct football when possession changes hands, rather than slowly recycling the ball and allowing the opposition time to settle into their deep defence.

Not that Eze’s shooting and creativity won’t be helpful even when Arsenal are trying to pick the lock. He adds dynamism here, too, especially in counter-balancing Arsenal’s tendency to lean too heavily to the right.

Last season, 44 per cent of their attacks came down that side, where Odegaard and Saka were repeatedly funnelled the ball to make something happen.

Arsenal's flank attacks, 24/25

Who knows how big an impact that counterweight could have? Eze and Odegaard together as the No 8s injects energy and verticality into the middle while freeing up Saka, a scary thought for the deep-lying defences of Everton, Brentford, Palace, Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Fulham – all of whom took points off Arsenal last season.

Eze could also be deployed on the left wing, where he can cut inside into similar territory, effectively acting as an upgrade on what Trossard does in that role.

Or he could be the false nine for matches when Arteta would ordinarily prefer Havertz over Gyokeres; when he feels he needs more technical ability between the lines rather than runs in behind.

There are various different ways Eze can be deployed, and each one gives Arsenal a style of footballer they don’t currently have in the side.

Considering the number of attacking players already in the squad, perhaps Arsenal didn’t strictly need Eze. But that doesn’t mean he won’t take them up another level.